Two rivers in spate, all gates of Dhamni dam opened as Palghar records 240mm in 24 hours

MUMBAI: With heavy rains lashing Palghar district, all the five gates of the Dhamni dam, located on the Surya river, were opened on Saturday.
The district administration issued warning to villages around the dam. Both the Vaitarna river and Surya river in the district begun overflowing on Saturday and nearby villages were evacuated. Such was the flow of the Surya river that four cows walking on the old Surya river bridge were washed away.One cow managed to turn away from the flooded bridge and was saved. A video of the cattle being washed away went viral on social media.

Several areas in Palghar including the Manor-Palghar Road, Palghar-Saphale Road were shut due to flooding. Kolshe bridge, around 500 meters away from the Manor police station was under water. Police vigil was assigned to the spots that were waterlogged to discourage people from wading through water. Schools and colleges were shut as per orders from the district collector Dr Kailash Shinde.
The waterlogging at Bhatane bridge at Vasai that connects around 12 villages had also reached dangerous levels with water beginning to overflow on Saturday. Residents of these villages feared that if rains continue they may get disconnected from the outside world. Every year, the bridge goes under water following heavy rains. The district administration has to then rescue the villagers using boats. District officials said the villagers refused to leave their homes even when the water level was rising.
Several residential areas in Nalasopara (east) including Central Park, Achole Road were under water. Housing societies were flooded and water entered ground floor homes in Vasai and Nalasopara. The region had received massive rainfall in July last year.